(Butler, PA) Students from Butler and other counties, states and countries said Butler County Community College’s latest ranking as the No. 1 community college in Pennsylvania validates their decision to pick BC3 to pursue careers as behavioral therapists, real estate investors, registered nurses and other professions.

Niche.com, Pittsburgh, reviewed and evaluated data from the U.S. Department of Education, U.S. Census Bureau and FBI, and weighed student and alumni reviews in recognizing BC3 as the best community college in Pennsylvania for 2026.

BC3 was also ranked No. 1 by Niche.com for 2025, for 2023 and for 2022; by BestColleges.com for 2023, for 2022, for 2020 and for 2017; and by Schools.com in 2019, in 2017 and in 2015.

“Being ranked No. 1 for just one year is impressive in itself,” said Noah Kollinger, a health care science student from Butler. “But 11 times is just another league of its own.”

“It is kind of amazing,” said Stan Coronado, a business administration student from East Brady, Clarion County. “It builds credibility of how good the education is here.”

“The first thing I see is a big sign saying No. 1”

“When I drive on campus, the first thing I see is a big sign saying No. 1 community college in Pennsylvania,” said Evan Bates, 19, a physical education-sport management option student from Girard, Ohio. “It makes me feel confident in BC3’s abilities to get me to where I want to go.”

Kadjali Biola, 20, of New Caledonia, in the South Pacific, is enrolled in BC3’s computer science program and like Bates, a player on the college’s men’s basketball team.

“The school part is really important,” Biola said. “That is why BC3 is a good college for me. It’s No. 1 for 11 times.”

Online resources such as Niche.com, BestColleges.com and Schools.com research and analyze U.S. Department of Education and other information to help prospective students plan for their careers.

Academics, value, financial aid, safety and student life were among topics Niche.com considered.

It weighed academics at 40 percent; value at 27.5 percent; professors at 7.5 percent; campus, diversity, student life and student surveys on overall experience at 5 percent each; and local area and safety at 2.5 percent each.

“Students and families can count on BC3”

The No. 1 ranking comes in a year when BC3 is marking its 60th anniversary.

“This honor is yet another example that students and families can count on BC3 to deliver quality, affordable and accessible education,” said Megan M. Coval, BC3’s president. “For 60 years the college has stayed true to a mission that puts students first. That steady commitment and genuine care are exactly what students need most right now.”

Joseph E. Kubit is chair of BC3’s board of trustees, a Butler County judge and a 1984 BC3 graduate.

“These consistently outstanding rankings should instill pride and confidence in current students,” Kubit said, “and be something those choosing a college should consider strongly.”

BC3 “the best decision I have made”

Hailey Bennett, Mia Hutchison and Syerra Whitlatch agreed.

“The best decision I have made is to come to BC3,” said Bennett, an Evans City resident and health care science student who hopes to become an emergency room nurse. “I think it is really cool that our community college is the best one in the state again.”

Bennett, 19, praised the college’s faculty – “I’ve loved all the professors that I have had” – and its student success coaches – “It’s awesome that they offer that here. You can just go in and talk to them. And they help you out.”

Financial aid options, BC3’s affordability and scholarships allowed 93 percent of the college’s Class of 2025 to graduate debt-free.

“The education is great at BC3”

“Tuition is a huge thing for a lot of people,” said Hutchison, 20, of Cranberry Township, a BC3 psychology student who plans to become a behavioral therapist in an individualized education program. “The education is great at BC3 as well as what you are paying for it.”

Tuition and fees for Butler County students pursuing 15 credits each semester in the 2025-2026 academic year cost $6,210 for in-person courses. Those students can receive up to $10,453 in federal and state grants, according to Juli Louttit, BC3’s director of student financial services.

Whitlatch, of Cranberry Township, is a 20-year-old general studies student at BC3 @ Cranberry, whose director is Dr. Ryan Kociela.

“These rankings are a reflection of our ability to adapt to changing times in our communities,” Kociela said. “We will continue to assess our programs and services to ensure that we are exceeding the needs of our students and our college community.”

Whitlatch intends to become an ultrasound technician. She said she appreciates administrators such as Kociela and Rhiannon Baron, a student services and technology support specialist, who help to create a course schedule that accommodates the 40 hours a week she works as a hostess at a restaurant and as a food server at a nursing home.

“They are wonderful,” Whitlatch said. “I’ve never felt like a burden even when I am always asking questions.”

“I can do my best” in small-class sizes

Coronado lauds BC3’s 11:1 student-to-faculty ratio – “I feel like I have always done better in small classes. I do appreciate not being in a huge lecture hall with so many people so I can do my best” – and Kollinger, “fantastic resource centers and friendly staff.”

Coronado, 19, intends to become an owner and renter of houses, apartments and automobiles; and Kollinger, 19, a registered nurse.

BC3 students, Kollinger said, “should take pride in being a part of such a special school. BC3 continuously being ranked at the top is an accomplishment that students should recognize. It shows the school they chose takes education very seriously, and that BC3 wants to make sure students have a space to grow and flourish as they continue their education, which BC3 succeeds at every year.”

Students from Pennsylvania counties other than Butler who are pursuing 15 credits each semester in the 2025-2026 academic year are paying $9,300 in tuition and fees for in-person courses. Those students could receive up to $12,289 in federal and state grants, Louttit said.

Students from other states and countries would pay $12,300 and could receive up to $7,395 in federal grants, Louttit said.

The BC3 Education Foundation in 2025-2026 had available to BC3 students a record 164 named scholarships, according to Bobbi Jo Cornetti, scholarship and development coordinator with the foundation. Financial awards ranged from $300 to $5,000 and averaged $500, Cornetti said.

BC3 is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, as are its fellow members of the Pennsylvania Commission for Community Colleges that followed BC3 in Niche.com’s statewide rankings: Delaware County Community College, No. 2; Bucks County Community College, No. 3; Luzerne County Community College, No. 4; the Community College of Beaver County, No. 5; Westmoreland County Community College, No. 6; Reading Area Community College, No. 7; Community College of Philadelphia, No. 8; the Community College of Allegheny County, No. 9; and Harrisburg Area Community College, No. 10.